1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates an album type electronic image display device that displays images in an album style wherein the images look like pictures mounted on pages of an album. The present invention also relates to a printing system for the album type electronic image display device.
2. Background Arts
Such an album type electronic image display device has been disclosed for example in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 2000-148976. Since the images are displayed as pasted on respective pages of an album, the user can enjoy observing the images while changing the pages turn by turn. The album type electronic image display device is handy for observing images recorded on a memory card by an electronic still camera.
However, the conventional album type electronic image display device still has some inconveniences. The conventional image display device is incapable of inserting other images into an electronic album once the album has been produced by the image display device from images read out from a memory card. Therefore, it is impossible to unite those images into an album which are stored in different memory cards. The conventional image display device cannot copy data of one memory card onto another memory card, so it is inconvenient for regulating image data.
Furthermore, the conventional image display device requires a manual operation every time to turn the page. This is inconvenient when the user is observing all pages of an album having a large volume, or when a group of persons will observe an album on the image display device.
On the other hand, a printing system has been disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. 11-167594. In the printing system, a customer having a terminal apparatus, such as a personal computer with a display device, selects images to print, and edits or synthesizes the images on the terminal apparatus. Thereafter, the customer produces a print data file from processed image data and print order data such as the frame serial numbers of these images, the number of copies to print, and the like. In response to the print data file being forwarded to a photofinisher, the photofinisher prints out the images in accordance with the processed image data and the print order data.
This printing system is advantageous both for the customer and for the photofinisher because the customer can designate printing conditions of each image while checking the finish on the terminal apparatus, so the subsequent prints mostly satisfy the customer""s expect. The photofinisher need not asking the details of the expected finish, but just have to make prints according to the print data file from the customer.
It is desirable to provide such a printing system for the above mentioned album type image display device, that can print the images on recording sheets in the same manner as displayed on the album type image display device, so that a hard copy of the electronic album may be produced just by filing the printed recording sheets.
For this purpose, however, the images should be printed page by page on opposite sides of the recording sheets, and also a gutter margin should be provided on each page such that the gutter margins are located alternately on the left or the right of the pages between the odd pages and the even pages. In the conventional album type image display device, the users have manually to designate both-side printing and gutter margin locations all by themselves. When ordering printing through the above described conventional printing system, the customers have to inform the photofinisher of the gutter margin locations of the respective pages.
In view of the foregoing, an object of the present invention is to provide an electronic image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, that permits inserting or adding images from an external memory into an electronic album as displayed on the image display device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electronic image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, that facilitates uniting a plurality of electronic albums into an electronic album.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an album type image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, that can display an electronic album while turning pages automatically.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an album type image display device that can display or reproduce captions previously assigned to selected images of an electronic album while displaying the selected images.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printing system for an album type image display device that permits printing designated pages of an electronic album on recording sheets while providing binding margins automatically in appropriate locations.
To achieve the above objects, according to an aspect of the present invention, an electronic image display device comprises:
an image input device for reading out electronic images from an external memory; an image processing device for pasting the electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; an internal memory for storing the electronic album containing the electronic images; and a mode selection device for setting the image display device to a data holding mode wherein the internal memory holds previously stored electronic images even while a second set of electronic images are read out from a second external memory and are written on the internal memory, so the image processing device may insert the second set of electronic images into the electronic album in the data holding mode.
According to a preferred embodiment, the image processing device pastes the electronic images on the respective pages in accordance with album manager data, and a combination of the electronic images and the album manager data constitute the electronic album. If electronic images are read out from an external memory without album manager data, the image processing device pastes the electronic images on the respective pages in accordance with a predetermined format for an electronic album, and produces album manager data according to the predetermined format, the image display device revises the album manager data on the internal memory each time the electronic album is modified. If the second set of electronic images are accompanied by second album manager data when being read out from the second external memory, the album manager data of the previously stored electronic album is revised on the basis of the second album manager data.
According to another preferred embodiment, the display section is able to display successive two pages of the electronic album at a time, and the second set of electronic images are interposed as additional pages between successive two pages which are displayed on the display section when the second set of electronic images are read out from the second external memory in the data holding mode.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, an electronic image display device comprises:
an image processing device for pasting electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; and a manually operated mode selection device for setting the image display device at an automatic play mode wherein the pages displayed on the display section are automatically turned over in a predetermined sequence.
According to a preferred embodiment, the electronic image display device further comprises a device for calculating an individual page display time for a respective page of the electronic album on the basis of a data volume of the respective page, and making the respective page displayed for a time determined based on the individual page display time in the automatic play mode. Where the electronic images include still images and movies, a respective one of the movies is automatically played while the page containing the movie is displayed in the automatic play mode, and wherein play times for those movies contained in the respective page are taken into account as the data volume.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, an electronic image display device comprises:
an image processing device for pasting electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; a device for causing the display section to display characters in addition to selected ones of the electronic images, the characters being previously assigned to the selected electronic images; a reproduction device for reproducing sounds that are previously recorded in association with selected ones of the electronic images; and a discrimination device for discriminating one electronic image from others among those displayed concurrently on the display section, while characters or sounds relating to the one electronic image are being displayed or reproduced.
According to a preferred embodiment, the display section doubles as a touch panel for permitting designating an appropriate electronic image among those displayed on the display section by touching the appropriate electronic image, and wherein characters or sounds relating to the designated electronic image are displayed or reproduced while the designated electronic image is discriminated by the discrimination device.
A printing system according to the present invention consists of an electronic image display device for displaying images in a style of an album, and a printer for making hard copies of images as displayed on the image display device, wherein the image display device comprises:
an image processing device for pasting electronic images on respective pages of an electronic album; a display section for displaying the electronic album at least one page at a time; a manual operation device for designating printing conditions for the electronic images, the printing conditions including at least a page serial number of a designated page, a print area to print from the designated page, and the requisite number of copies to make from the print area; a print data setup device that automatically sets up margin conditions for the designated page when an entire area of the designated page is selected as the print area, such that a binding margin is located on an appropriate side of the designated page, and produces print data representative of the printing conditions and the margin conditions; and a data output device for outputting the print data and album data of the electronic album; and
wherein the printer prints an individual image frame or the entire area of the designated page on a recording sheet in accordance with the print data, while providing a binding margin in the case where the entire area of the designated page is printed.
According to a preferred embodiment of the printing system, both-side printing to print two successive pages on opposite sides of a respective recording sheet may be designated as one of the printing conditions through the manual operation device, and if the both-side printing is designated, the print data setup device sets up the margin conditions such that a binding margin of a first page is located back to back with a binding margin of a second page that is to be printed on the opposite side to the first page, and wherein the printer prints the respective pages on the opposite sides of respective recording sheets in accordance with the print data.
It is preferable to distribute the print data and the album data to appropriate one of a plurality of printers in accordance with the printing conditions designated by the print data.